Celebrate Valentine’s Day with Cramele Recas by Milly Adams

My mum always said ‘a bit of what you fancy does you good.’ And I love Pinot Grigio but have not associated Romania with this wine. A bad mistake, because here at Frost Magazine we’ve been sampling again. Tough job but someone has to do it.

To mark Valentine’s Day, Cramele Recas, the booming Romanian winery, has chosen a selection of wines from its portfolio as the perfect way to celebrate. Whether to serve at that special dinner yum yum – or to give as a gift, not quite so yum yum, these wines are well worth considering.

There is an ancient Romanian spring tradition, Martisor, where men offer the women that they love a gift to mark their respect and admiration. A custom that started 8000 years ago, the gift was often two twisted threads of wool, one colored red and one white with a trinket attached that woman wore as a bracelet, often for the whole month of March. So yes, give a bracelet but drape it over Cramele Recas’s new Pinot Grigio.

Cramele Recas’s new Pinot Grigio has a delicate salmon pink colour which hints at the flavour of fresh pear with a crisp acidity. This is an elegant Pinot Grigio Rosé and pairs well with a romantic seafood pasta dish.

RRP £6.00

Martisor Pinto Grigio Dedicated to the romantic tradition, the Martisor Pinot Grigio is available to purchase now at Waitrose nationwide, (RRP £7.49). With a touch of light peach, the Martisor Pinot Grigio has a scent of melons, figs and peaches.

The wine’s dry palate with gentle flavours of peach and red apple gives the wine appreciable richness and substance – but with sufficient acidity to provide vitality and freshness.

Incanta Pinot Noir has all of the classic bright fruit flavours and spicy notes that are associated with this iconic grape. The nose has delicate aromas of cherry and raspberry and these flavours are matched on the palate with the addition of hints of flowers and sweet spice.

A smooth finish to this wine, and with a modern, floral label to highlight the wine’s qualities it makes a nice gift.

Available from Majestic Wines, (RRP £6.49), this wine is ideally paired with cured meats and cheeses.

Milly Adams is the bestselling author of The Waterway Girls. pub Arrow.